Resources and Knowledge for the Small Business CEO

Too Much On Your Plate? Here Are Some Tips To Clear Your Desk Of Tasks

We’ve all been there, in today’s world, it’s hard to keep everything going at once. You have tasks from your job, home, kids, personal life, medical appointments, and who knows what else. It can be difficult to manage these tasks, even if you employ an electronic organization system.

One problem with trying to manage so much from one place, is that often you have different programs for each type of task. Your home stuff is under one place, your work stuff under another, and fun stuff under something else. This makes it difficult to manage, and you probably never feel like you have a moment alone anymore.

Your desk is probably both figuratively and literally cluttered with your everyday tasks. If you want to clear your schedule, clean your desk, and make your life easier, try implementing some of these tips into your day.

Get organized

Organization is the key to keeping your day running smoothly. If you have to worry about missing work meetings, family outings, or daily appointments, you will constantly be distracted from work and have difficulty focusing through the day. The best way to solve this problem is to consolidate everything you have to do in one master list.

Block out time

One method of keeping things straight is the block method. With this method, you focus on one particular task for a particular block of time (say, 2 hours). That way, you put 100 percent of your attention on that task and you don’t have to bounce between different tasks. This ensures you get to everything on your to-do list and have the time to really focus on each task individually.

Create rules

Creating rules can help you cut down on distractions throughout the day. Create rules for email, such as if you can’t answer it within two minutes then send it to another folder for answering when you have time later. Give each task that you do clear rules as well, such as, deal with all new tasks within three days, or whatever is applicable for your job.

Insert downtime

When you end your day at work, try to completely end it for the day. Don’t spend time at home checking work email or thinking about work processes. If you can’t help thinking about work, try writing it down in a note that you can take care of when you return to work.

If you follow these tips, you will feel less overwhelmed at work, and have a clearer desk. You will also be able to enjoy your off time more, because you won’t constantly have to think about things you may have missed at the office. Within a few days, you should see marked improvement in the condition of your desk at work.

About The Guest Author: Nate Miller is a part-time guest-blogger whose main interests are automobiles and racing, with a recent focus on personal development and business. He is constantly extending his fields of interest to incorporate news suggested to him by his readers. He currently works at Domo.Cluttered Desk Photo via Shutterstock